Introducing The Frederique Constant Manufacture Perpetual Calendar, A Full Perpetual Calendar Under $10,000

If we had to pick one trend that seems to most characterize Baselworld 2016, it'd probably be the pursuit of better value for consumers – or at least, the attempt to create for consumers the impression that watches can offer better value, relative to the competition. One of the most notable manifestations of this direction was the Manufacture Perpetual Calendar – a full perpetual calendar, developed and made in-house, by Frederique Constant, which will cost under $10,000 at launch.

If we had to pick one trend that seems to most characterize Baselworld 2016, it'd probably be the pursuit of better value for consumers – or at least, the attempt to create for consumers the impression that watches can offer better value, relative to the competition. One of the most notable manifestations of this direction was the Manufacture Perpetual Calendar – a full perpetual calendar, developed and made in-house, by Frederique Constant, which will cost under CHF 10,000 at launch. In fact, the starting price is just CHF 8,350.

As hard as it may be to believe, this is a full perpetual calendar, automatic, made in-house. Frederique Constant's stock in trade has always been affordable luxury, and while over the last decade the overwhelming majority of luxury watch brands have incrementally increased pricing to the point where may potential clients for fine watchmaking have simply been largely priced out of the game, Frederique Constant has kept to the principle of making sure you get more for less from their watches. This, however, is a very dramatic statement of purpose – mechanical perpetual calendars generally cost tens of thousands of dollars and to date, the most affordable has been from Montblanc, whose self-winding perpetual in steel costs just under $13,000.

Both the base automatic movement and the perpetual calendar module were developed and are made by Frederique Constant, and the development process, according to Frederique Constant CEO Dr. Peter Stas, took about three years.

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Credit for the heavy lifting on movement prototyping, research and development, and construction goes to Manuel Da Silva Matos, R&D director, and Pim Koeslag, technical director of Frederique Constant. FC tells us that a major factor in keeping costs low was to engineer the movement for ease of assembly.

A major design goal for the Manufacture Perpetual Calendar was to make a watch at a contemporary size – case diameter for the three models available at launch is 42 mm – with the subdials placed at distance from the center of the watch that maintains the overall visual harmony of the design, avoiding the "squinting subdials" phenomenon often seen when a third-party complications module is placed in a larger case. Dr. Stas told us that Frederique Constant actually began by establishing the desired case dimensions, and then designing the perpetual calendar module to ensure the pivots for the calendar hands, and therefore the subdials, would be in appropriate positions.

Three models will be available at launch: one in stainless steel with a white dial, and two in rose gold plate – one with a white dial, and one with a very eye-catching sunryay brushed blue dial. This is a watch that really throws down the gauntlet to the rest of the industry in terms of pricing, obviously, but it's also one that invites us to speculate what value really is in luxury watchmaking, and how it's established in the minds of consumers – and by whom. In any case, whatever philosophizing it might inspire, there's no doubt that the Manufacture Perpetual Calendar from Frederique Constant is a new benchmark for affordable luxury horology.